Main Event
Day 1a Started
2011 PokerStars.net European Poker Tour Berlin
Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2011 PokerStars.net European Poker Tour Berlin
Buy-in
€5,000
Prize Pool
€3,865,000
Entries
773
Level
32
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
20,000
Welcome to the Pokerstars.Net EPT Berlin!
![[user76023]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Welcome back to beautiful Berlin, Germany's glorious capital for its second time on the European Poker Tour. Last year this event debuted with 945 runners, with Kevin MacPhee the eventual winner ahead of Finn Ilari Tahkokallio.
We've moved across from the Hyatt Hotel to the SpielBank Casino itself next door, situated comfortably on the first floor and we're once again expecting a packed field including many Team PokerStars Pros including Henrique Pinho and Michael Keiner while we are expecting German tennis legend and Team PokerStars SportStar Boris Becker to also be playing either today or tomorrow.
Play will be underway in around half an hour and all tables will be nine-handed for today, we will be playing nine levels.
Level: 1
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0
People Chancing an Arm in the Competition Today...
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
EPT Tallinn finalist, Dmitry Vitkind
Online phenom, Jack Ellwood
EPT Deauville, finalist Alex Wice
Current leader for EPT Player of the Year, Fernando Brito
Plus there has been a mini French invasion here, Michel Abecassis, Guillaume de la Gorce, Fabrice Soulier and Alexia Portal are also all involved.
Kremser Kicks it Off
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
"Tournament dealers, button starts in seat number four. Just to let you know that the official tournament language is English, and English only. We start the first round of 50/100. Players - good luck. Dealers - shuffle up and deal!"
These words are familiar to EPT regulars, starting the first of nine levels to be played today. Probably the man to have heard them more than any other in the second floor's tournament arena is Pierre Neuville, friend of PokerStars and unbelievably avid online EPT qualifier. It says so right on his shirt. He takes his seat with the Day 1a-ers, as does Ben Roberts and Ludovic Lacay.
The 'Casino Royal' as the upstairs area is known is nowhere near as jam-packed as the main floor, and it looks like all of the fashionably-late arrivals have drawn seats there. Ben Roberts, in fact, with less than a minute to go before the start, was sat all by himself at a nine-handed table. Arnaud Mattern, too, has just two opponents, currently.
Less is Moor
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
The hijack opened to 250 and Chris Moorman made the call in the cutoff. The button then made it 825 and the original raiser folded but Moorman made the call to see a 
flop.
Moorman checked and the button bet 900 but the Englishman then check-raised to 2,375 but the button called.
The 
came on the turn and Moorman checked again and the button now bet 4,300 which this time was just called. The 
river saw a third check from Moorman and a bet of 10,500 from his opponent. Moorman didn't like it but made the call only for his opponent to show 
for a gutshot that had backdoored into a flush.
Bets of British
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
More players have come out of the woodwork (or the lovely hotel down the road) and are getting their 30,000 stacks into action right away. Among them are several UK players including John Eames, fresh from his 3rd place finish at EPT Copenhagen this year. His DKr 1,400,000 win there represented his best result live to date, and he'll be looking to replicate or even better his finish here in Berlin.
Other Brits playing today are EPT Vilamoura winner Toby Lewis and Andrew Teng, most recently spotted three-betting preflop and then getting rid of his out-of-position opponent with a 1,200 bet on a 
flop.
Nasr Fails to Reach Orbit
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
There's a tricky looking table upstairs featuring Team PokerStars Pro Arnaud Mattern, Guillaume de la Gorce and former EPT Prague finalist [Removed:197]. The latter two just tangling when De La Gorce fired out 400 on a 
flop with Nasr the only caller.
The 
came on the turn and Nasr checked a second time but gave up when the Frenchman now fired out 1,400.
Level: 2
Blinds: 75/150
Ante: 0
Patches O'Houlihan!
Level 2
: 75/150, 0 ante
Like Naomi Klein there's no logo-ing up in Berlin over this week as players are not allowed to wear patches for any poker sites they might be sponsored by. So if you spot some of your favourite pros not wearing their logos then don't worry! They haven't been dropped, they're just following the rules.